Concrete screed rental covers three families of machine, and the width between your forms chooses between them. A hand held vibratory screed hires near $60 to $110 a day and suits paths, pads and small slabs. A roller screed spans further and copes with wet mixes. A truss screed bridges twenty feet or more and is a crew machine rather than a one person hire.
Three machines under one word
A vibratory screed is a blade on a small engine, walked along the forms by one or two people. A roller screed spins a tube across the pour and handles slopes and wet mixes well. A truss screed is a rigid vibrating frame that spans the full width and rides the forms. Each suits a different width and leaves a different finish.
Span is the number to give the counter
Tell the yard the distance between your forms and the screed picks itself. Under roughly ten feet a hand held blade is enough. Ten to twenty feet is roller screed country, in sections you can add to. Beyond that a truss is what stays straight, and it needs the forms set true because the machine copies whatever it rides on.
The pour will not wait for a late machine
Concrete arrives on a schedule and starts stiffening immediately, so collect the screed the day before, fuel it, start it and check it. A machine that will not fire while a truck is discharging is the most expensive rental failure on this page. Ask for a spare pull cord or a second battery, and know who answers the yard phone that morning.
What else belongs on the same ticket
Bull floats, magnesium hand floats, edgers, groovers, kneeboards and a power trowel for a larger slab all come from the same counter, usually far cheaper than the screed itself. Add curing blankets and cover if the forecast is uncertain. Putting them on one ticket saves a second trip and often a second delivery charge.
Questions people ask about concrete screed rental
What is the difference between a power screed and a roller screed?
A power screed vibrates a straight blade along the forms to level and consolidate. A roller screed turns a smooth tube that pushes the mix ahead of it, which suits slopes and wetter mixes and needs less muscle. Yards stock both, and the pour width and grade usually decide.
How wide a slab can one person screed?
With a hand held vibratory blade, comfortably up to about ten feet on a flat pour. Past that the blade flexes and the finish suffers, and you want a second pair of hands or a roller screed in sections. A truss screed always needs a crew.
Do I need a power trowel as well?
Only if you want a hard, burnished interior finish. Exterior slabs are usually broom finished after floating, so a bull float and edger are enough. Where you do want a trowel, book it for the following window rather than the same hour, since the slab has to set first.